Dear Editor,
The party whose leader said they would be “dead meat” if they combined with the PNC, grovelled and licked boots to be first mate on a sinking PNC ship, now an illegal Government. Knowing that Moses got larwah as PM, why did it matter so much to Khemraj that he was the PM candidate and will get larwah too? Was it just the large pension later? And now that the AFC man cannot become President if for some reason Granger’s sickness forces him to quit early, as they are probably expecting, what is the point for Khemraj? He is getting bigger larwah. But the PNC knowing the AFC has lost their political influence and capital seems scared to take any chances going at it alone, so they will carry the goadie, hoping it brings good luck.
From a party with seven seats in its heyday, the AFC was decimated by the PPP at the 2016 and 2018 Local Government Elections (LGE). In 2018 when Granger forced them to campaign on their own to test their electoral strength and value to the coalition, they won zero, zilch NDCs, when the PPP beat the coalition by 45,000 votes, after beating them by 25,000 votes in 2016.
These numbers show they got “bad beat” by the PPP under the leadership of President Jagdeo, who is probably the most astute, shrewd politician in Guyana today. Mr Jagdeo is the most experienced leader, having served almost 3 terms as President, and presiding over some of Guyana’s best years in development.
No wonder the PNC is scared of him so much and tries to demonise him at every turn. However, notwithstanding his faults, the PPP supporters simply love Mr Jagdeo and see him as the man who can hold the undemocratic PNC at bay, standing up to the bullies. Dr Irfaan Ali is lucky that he has three living PPP democratically-elected Presidents to coach and mentor him. The PNC does not have that.
When the AFC joined with the PNC, Granger neutered the AFC, so if the AFC went on their own, they were already “dead meat” and can never make a comeback. They already betrayed the nation and weakened the notion of “third force” politics.
Their defeat at the LGEs showed that. They have been already defiled and contaminated by their PNC association. Like so many victims of domestic violence, the AFC now has to stay in the coalition for their survival, in an abusive relationship. Without the PNC, they are dead, dead.
What we are curious to know is when they get beat by the PPP, and they lose the election in 2020, will the AFC get the same number of seats they were promised? If they lose, it means both the PNC and AFC will have to fight for political space. They will then become competitors.
Why will Granger or Volda want to give them seats if they lost (as the AFC would have brought nothing to the table)? Will the PNC old guards let Granger do that? The PNC old guards such as Norton, Lowe and Volda wanted them off the ticket for 2020, knowing that the 2018 Local Government Election shows the AFC lost their political value and deserved less. People went back to the PPP after they were deceived that the coalition would be “the change” but did worse.
The other thing is that they said the AFC will get the Public Security Ministry. Wouldn’t that be a very, very sad thing as they have it now and it’s a big mess with criminals having a field day? We must work hard for the defeat of the PNC coalition.
Sincerely,
Jerry Singh